Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the licence of a SpiceJet pilot for six months following an incident where the airline’s flight from Mumbai to Durgapur faced severe turbulence and resulted in injuries to many passengers in May.

In the incident that happened on May 1, as many as14 passengers and three cabin crew members were injured.

A senior DGCA official said the licence of the pilot-in-command has been suspended due to violations of various standard operating procedures. Among others, the pilot could have dealt with the bad weather situation in a better manner, the official said.

SpiceJet did not comment on the issue. As it was a serious incident, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was probing the matter.

SpiceJet flight SG-945 from Mumbai to Durgapur had encountered severe turbulence during descent which unfortunately resulted in injuries to a few passengers. They were rushed to the hospital as soon as the flight landed in Durgapur. There were 195 people, including two pilots and four cabin crew members, on the flight.

The regulator had de-rostered the aircraft maintenance engineer who had cleared this aircraft to take off from Durgapur, the crew who operated this flight and the airline ahead of maintenance control centre, pending inquiry ordered into the incident.